The invention relates to an absorbent body for medical use, made of 100% cotton fibers, and to a method for its production.
Absorbent bodies for medical use are employed for absorbing and removing bodily fluids. They are counted among the so-called staple bandaging materials and must be physiologically safe, dependable and simple to manipulate as well as cost effective.
Initially, loose fibers, preferably natural fibers, are held together in absorbent bodies for medical use either by prior formation of yarn and subsequent weaving, by random positions of the fibers, by quilting or by means of an appropriate cover material, in such a way that the individual fibers are prevented from drifting apart. Only by means of this effect are the absorption of fluids and the storage capability assured, which should amount to a multiple of the inherent weight of the absorbent body. Only if the individual fibers are dependably kept together in the absorbent body is it possible to remove, or respectively draw out the absorbed bodily fluids and take them away.
If the fibers are only insufficiently connected with each other, the absorbent body cannot be removed as a whole, and therefore neither can the fluids it has absorbed. The fibers and fiber remnants which become separated remain in the body and can lead to dangerous defensive reactions.
The ability of an absorbent body to absorb is maximized when all fiber tips are of the same height and are oriented parallel. The storage volume and retaining capacity depend on the so-called capillary effect, i.e. on the distance of parallel oriented fibers from each other, the affinity of the fibers to the secreted matter and the consistency of the secreted matter. The ability of the fibers to bind fluids decreases, the more and the greater the area of the fiber surface is occupied by connecting points with other fibers. Therefore every development of an optimally absorbent body must optimally combine the partially opposing requirements, namely a high degree of fiber integration and a large ability to absorb and retain fluids.
The methods for producing absorbent bodies for medical use, which are part of the prior art and known per se, are the formation of woven or knit materials made of cotton yarn, the production of nonwovens of all types made of cotton, viscose or artificial fibers, as well as quilted or enclosed fibrous webs, or respectively layers of fibers.
Further, an adhesive dressing, for example, is known from the prior art (German Letters Patent 667 940), wherein a support, provided with an adhesive on one side, is used, on which an elastically constituted wound cover made of a woven or knit material is arranged. In this case the support is made of a porous random-fiber nonwoven.
In order to reduce the ability of loose fiber connections to unravel, while maintaining the maximum ability to absorb and retain fluids, it is furthermore a part of the prior art to select combinations between solid and loose connections, for example cotton wool with nonwoven materials or woven envelopes, or absorption layers with woven or non-woven covers. The disadvantage of these bonded layers lies in their insufficient interlocking with each other, or respectively the relatively elaborate production and, in case of a chemical connection between the layers themselves, their lack of physiological safety.